He’s only lived in Manhattan Beach for a little over a year, but he’s already deeply involved in the city.
In March, Joseph Ungoco, 47, joined the Manhattan Beach Residents Association and became the co-editor of its newsletter, the Observer. About a month ago, he was invited to join the board of the Manhattan Beach Conservancy. He’s the Neighborhood Watch Area Coordinator for the part of town north of Rosecrans Avenue. At American Martyrs, he’s on the Community and Evangelization Committee; at the Beach Cities Masonic Lodge, he’s the chaplain. He’s also in this year’s Leadership MB class.
People ask him how he has already taken such an active role in the city, he said.
“Groups you think would be insular or only want people who think like them — they’re actually not like that,” he explained.
He also works as a realtor at Keller Williams in Marina del Rey and lives with his six-year-old Doberman Pinscher, Red Badge of Honor, or Blaze for short, in El Porto.
Although he’s new to Manhattan Beach, he’s not new to civic engagement.
“My motto is, ‘It’s never too early — or too late, for that matter — to contribute,’” he said while sitting in front of a tea spread on his grandmother’s china in his second floor apartment. “It would never occur to me not to contribute. When people have an empty nest is when they tend to get involved. But there are issues that affect all of us.”
Although he grew up in Orange County, Ungoco has lived in several East Coast cities. In New York City, he started a public relations company, Brandwrangler, whose clients included political campaigns and luxury fashion brands. He worked on the first re-election campaign of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who held the position for three consecutive terms, and was appointed as a poll inspector by the New York City Board of Elections, he said.
After his parents, who are in their mid-80s and live in Murrieta, had a couple of accidents, he decided to move back to California. He sold his New York apartment and rented a friend’s apartment in Venice for a couple of months. It was while staying there that he volunteered to work on the political campaign of David Hadley, who was elected to the state assembly in 2014.
While observing polls in Manhattan Beach and Palos Verdes for the campaign, he was struck by the Manhattan Beach residents’ civic spirit and ethics. If the poll workers didn’t know what to do, he said, they didn’t make something up.
“I was impressed at how conscientious the residents were,” he said.
It left an impression that the city hadn’t when he visited as a young boy with his father, who owned rental properties in San Pedro and would take his son to the South Bay.
“We would go to the Redondo Beach Pier to buy crabs and fresh fish,” he recalled.
So when his two months were up in Venice, he decided to move to Manhattan Beach.
His first foray into speaking at a city council meeting was on behalf of the Friends of Polliwog Park, a group of neighbors who came together to oppose a proposal to put a skate park in the park.
“Every city I’ve lived in, I’ve gotten involved in civic issues of some sort, even if only going to council meetings and speaking on an issue,” he said.
When he heard about the group, he thought it would be like the Garden Conservancy he belonged to in New York City. He quickly realized it wasn’t, but he took up the cause anyway, even though he lived in North Manhattan Beach.
“I realized Polliwog Park is really our only park,” he said.
After hearing him speak, the Observer’s editor, Esther Besbris, asked him to write an article. Impressed with the result, she invited him to be her co-editor. When the Manhattan Beach Residents Association held an event on the school board’s Facilities Master Plan, which originally called for Manhattan Beach Middle School to expand into Polliwog Park, Ungoco served as the moderator. It was a natural fit.
“In all my work, I’ve been friends with activists, but I’m not an activist myself,” he said. “I consider myself a diplomat.”
He acted as the moderator again when the organization held a meeting on the controversial Gelson’s project. Although opponents of the proposal outnumbered its backers, Ungoco graciously managed the conversation, making sure both sides had time to talk and a chance to represent themselves.
“He’s a breath of fresh air,” said Manhattan Beach Residents Association President Michelle Murphy. “We tend to be old people who have lived in town for a long time. He has a new perspective and energy, and he’s interested in Manhattan Beach.”
Ungoco has forced the group to be more active on some issues, she said, such as the West Basin Municipal Water District’s proposal to put a desalination plant in El Segundo. At a recent outreach event about the proposal, Ungoco was the only person there, he told the city council.
“Sometimes we tend to sit back and complain,” said Murphy. “Joseph is getting us to do a little more, which is good.”
After a neighbor and her friend were held up at gunpoint in December, Ungoco became the area’s Neighborhood Watch coordinator. He had actually volunteered for the position, which involves managing an area’s block captains and serving as their liaison to the police, about a year ago, but the police suggested he try being a block captain first, he said. The holdup rattled the neighborhood and prompted one resident to create a petition asking for more Neighborhood Watch coverage in the area, among other things.
“A lot of El Porto blocks have never had a Neighborhood Watch block captain,” said Ungoco. “What I’ve been doing is trying to get a block captain for every block.”
About a month ago, Jan Dennis, the founder of the Manhattan Beach Conservancy, stepped down from her role as the chair to focus on a book she’s writing. She asked Ungoco, whom she met at a Hadley campaign event, to join the board.
“He just showed a great interest in the history of Manhattan Beach,” said Dennis. “He was really nice to talk to, easy to work with.”
The two are now collaborating on creating a walking tour for East Manhattan as the Conservancy has done for other parts.
Although he was an advocate for various issues in New York City, it was different than in Manhattan Beach, he said.
“People tend to organize along issues in New York City,” he said, as opposed to where they live. “I thought it was part of the charm when I came here. People are very passionate about their neighborhoods.” ER
